Damon's crossroads
by Damon Salvatore is awesome
Summary: post 5x18 au. Markos and Liv hatch seperate plans, each inloving Elizabeth, a woman from Damon's past. Elizabeth's return in Damon's life causes Elena to question whether her breakup with Damon was the right choice as Liv and Luke's mother, a woman called the Oracle, appears and gives a prophecy regarding Damon, Elena, and Elizabeth. Will it be their undoing or salvation?
1. A new player

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries or anything else you may recognize.**

**Before we dive into the story, I would like to say right now that you should go watch the YouTube video 'Damon& and Elena true love prevails 5x16', which inspired this story.**

**On with the story.**

Markos's hideout

7:31 A.M.

Marcos was staring into the burning fire place, thinking. His plan had worked, his spell had drawn the last two Doppelgangers together and he could soon use their blood to break the curse. There was only one, slightly annoying problem: Damon Salvatore.

The vampire would no doubt try to protect Stefan and Elena from him once he learned of his true intentions. Damon was the most dangerous being protecting the Doppelgangers. Luckily, he had a pan not only to stop Damon's interference in his plans, but to turn Damon's abilities into an asset rather than an annoyance, Markos thought with a smirk.

Salvatore Mansion

7:35 A.M.

Damon was drinking a glass of Bourbon in a chair, drowning in misery. Every time he closes his eyes, he sees her face, fighting back tears as he tells her he can't be friends anymore. He hated doing that, but how is he supposed to go back to just being her friend? How can he do that when all he remembers the way his lips felt against hers, the way her body felt in his arms, the way it felt to wake up next to her? How does she expect him to just be her friend after all that?

Damon was snapped out of his musings by a knock at his door. His put his drink on the end table before rising from his chair and blurring to the door. Damon opened the door and was surprised to see Liv Parker standing on his porch.

"Well well, haven't seen you since I tried to kill you." Damon smirked as he leaned against the doorway.

"Yes, and while I'm grateful that you didn't, I need to talk to you." Liv told him solemnly.

"And I should listen to anything you say…why?" Damon asked sarcastically.

"Because I need your help in order to protect Elena and Stefan. Interested?" Liv asked.

In answer, Damon moved away from the doorway so Liv could come in. Liv walked inside and Damon closed the door behind her.

The grill

11:11 A.M.

Stefan was at the grill, having a drink. At a table behind him, Caroline was doing her best to consol a distraught Elena. Elena was deeply upset about at Damon cutting her out of his life. While Stefan was mad that Damon hurt the love of their life, he could understand and even sympathize with Damon. It wasn't easy to lose Elena. Stefan was brought out of his thought when someone started taping on his shoulder.

Stefan turned around and was more shocked than he had ever been in his life. Standing behind him was someone he never thought he'd see again. It was a woman with long, flowing strawberry blond hair than went down do her waist. She had piecing green eyes and a light complexion. She looked as though she was in her early twenties and was giving him a bright smile.

"It's been a long time Stefan." She told him.

"Elizabeth." Stefan said with a bright smile.

Stefan stood up and Embraced Elizabeth tightly. Elena and Caroline looked over, wondering who the woman that Stefan was hugging was. Stefan let go of her and stepped back, studying her. As the shock and joy wore off, he noticed that she literally hadn't aged a day. Was she a vampire like him or something else?

"It's been a long time; I haven't seen you since…" Stefan trailed off.

"Since three years before you become," Elizabeth paused, looking across the bar before leaning over so she could whisper in his ear like they were sharing an intimate secret, "a _vampire._"

Elizabeth leaned back, almost smirking at Stefan's dumfound expression. Behind her, Caroline and Elena gaped, wondering who exactly this woman was and how she knew Stefan was a vampire.

"we'll catch up later Stefan." Elizabeth promised him.

She turned around to leave but stopped short and gasped involuntarily at who was standing in her way. Stefan, Caroline, and Elena overcame their shock and they turned to see who was blocking Elizabeth's path.

"Hello Elizabeth." Damon greeted casually.

**So, what do you think? Please leave any thoughts or comments you have in a review or PM me. Later.**


	2. The prophecy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries or anything else you may recognize.**

The Grill

11:15 A.M.

"Damon." Elizabeth greeted wearily.

"It's been a while. Since your twentieth birthday party back in 1861, as a matter of fact." Damon remembered.

"Yeah, that was the day everything changed." Elizabeth said ominously.

"Where'd you go?" Damon inquired.

"I believe that's my business." Elizabeth told him vaguely.

"I wish I'd have known you were coming." Damon told her.

"Why, what would you have done?" Elizabeth asked as she took a threatening step forward.

Stefan, Elena, and Caroline watched nervously as Damon and Elizabeth eyed each other confrontationally. Damon and Elizabeth walked a few steps closer, looking like they about to come to blows with each other. They stopped a few steps from each other, eying each other in an apparent heated manner.

"I'd have thrown you a welcome party." Damon finally spoke up.

At this, their violent demeanor evaporated and the two shared a friendly embrace. Stefan and Caroline practically sagged in relief as the two old friends laughed at their display. Elena, on the other hand, didn't like the way Damon was acting with Elizabeth. Who was this woman and how did she know both Damon and Stefan? Was she a vampire or something else? It took a moment for her to place the emotion as she had not felt it in quite some time. Jealousy, she was jealous.

Caroline, noticing her friend's expression, reached over and gave her hand a sympathetic squeeze. Across the room, Damon and Elizabeth released each other. They stepped back from each other and looked at each for the first time in almost a century and a half.

"You look good." Elizabeth told him smiling.

"You too. But how did you survive, seriously?" Damon asked her again.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to go. We should catch up later though." Elizabeth told him before walking past him to leave.

"How about tonight?" Damon called out as he whirled around causing Elizabeth to stop and Stefan, Caroline, and Elena to turn to him surprised, "here, seven o' clock?"

Elizabeth turned around slowly as everyone watched the scene carefully. After a few seconds, Elizabeth flashed a smile at Damon.

"How about six?" Elizabeth suggested.

"Six it is then." Damon agreed.

"Good, see you then." Elizabeth told him before turning around and walking back out.

Once she was outside, she walked far enough away so that she knew she Damon couldn't listen in. Elizabeth dug through her jean pocket and pulled out a pink cell phone. She went to 'contacts' and scrolled down before settling on a name and pressing it. Putting her phone to her ear, she waited a few rings before he answered.

"Markos, step one is complete. I have a date with him tonight at six." She spoke into the phone.

Back inside the Grill, Damon sat down next to Stefan. As Damon ordered a glass of Bourbon, Stefan turned to him with a disbelieving look on his face.

"Really Damon? Asking Elizabeth on a date in front of Elena just to rub it in her face?" Stefan asked his voice full of sarcasm.

"Believe it or not brother, not everything I do involves Elena," Damon half lied as his Bourbon arrived, "besides, it's not a date, it's catching up with an old friend. And I don't think you should be giving me advice about Elena."

"What are talking about?" Stefan asks as Damon takes a drink from his glass before setting it down.

"Oh please. I see the looks you've been giving Elena, how much time the two of you have been spending together. What, now that she and I aren't together you're gonna swoop in and be her knight in shining armor again? Never thought you were that kind of guy Stef." Damon told him before taking another drink.

"That is not what's going on." Stefan denied.

"Sure it's not," Damon scoffed, "if you'll excuse me, I have places to be. I'm taking this to go."

After Damon compelled the bartender, he stood up and walked out of the bar. Once outside, he took another gulp from his glass before taking out his cell phone. Flipping it open, he started typing a text.

Lockwood Mansion

11:21 A.M.

"What do you mean the Traveler knife is missing?!" Liv demanded of Tyler as Jeremy, Matt, and Luke watched like it was a football game.

"I mean I woke up this morning and it was gone. I don't know what happened." Tyler told her.

"Arggg, this ruins everything!" Liv shouted at everyone as she took fists full of her blonde hair.

Before Liv could go on a rampage, her cell phone went off, signaling a text. Still glowering, Liv pulled out her cell phone. Whatever was on the text, it seemed to calm her down. She put her phone back in her pocket and turned to address the four males, noticeably calmer than before.

"Well, Damon managed to start his part of our plan; we'll just have to deal with this problem." Liv told them.

"What's Damon's part?" Matt asked curiously with Jeremy and Tyler looking equally as curious.

"I can't tell you that." Liv told him.

"Why not?" Tyler asked confused.

"Because," Luke spoke up causing the other three males to look at him, "there is only one way that a traveler could have gotten in and taken the knife without any of you noticing: one of you has a passenger inside you."

Jeremy, Matt, and Tyler all took a step back, looking shocked and revolted. The three of them exchanged suspicious glances, wondering which one of them was the passenger. Liv cleared her throat, bringing their attention back to her.

"Jeremy is a supernatural hunter, which makes it unlikely that he is the passenger. That only leaves the two of you." Liv said as her gaze switched from Matt to Tyler.

"So…what do we do now?" Jeremy asked as he eyed his two roommates.

"Well, we can't leave them alone. We need to be with them at all times, Luke will keep an eye on Matt while you and I watch over Tyler." Liv told him.

The grill

11:29 A.M.

"Who was that and how does she know you and Damon?" Elena demanded as she and Caroline walked over to Stefan.

"It's complicated." Stefan told her.

"We have nowhere to go." Caroline reminded him as she and Elena sat down next to him.

"Her name is Elizabeth Forbes the first…and she was Damon's best friend going up." Stefan told them.

Elena and Caroline were silent, absorbing this information. It made sense how close she was with Stefan and Damon now, but something still made Elena not trust, though that may have just been her jealousy talking. Caroline's mind suddenly caught something that Stefan said.

"Wait, Forbes as in…" Caroline trailed off.

"She's probably your distant aunt." Stefan told her.

"What is she doing here?" Elena asked suspicion clear in her voice.

"I don't know Damon and I haven't seen her since before we were turned." Stefan confessed.

"Well, when was the last time the two of you saw her?" Caroline asked agreeing with Elena's suspicion, though not the reasons for it.

"Three years before we were turned into vampires, at her twenty-first birthday party." Stefan told her as his mind flashed back to that night.

_Outside the Forbes Mansion, 1861_

_At night_

_Fourteen year old Stefan was walking up the lawn with his father and brother. Stefan was almost as excited as his brother, Elizabeth was like a big sister to him. Giuseppe stopped suddenly, causing his sons to stop and turn to him curiously. Giuseppe turned to Damon, a stern expression on his face._

"_Damon, you better not do anything to embarrass this family tonight." He threatened causing Damon to sigh in exasperation._

"_Father, it is Elizabeth's birthday, may we not argue tonight?" Damon pleaded._

_Giuseppe stared at him stonily for a moment before sneering at Damon and stalking off towards the house. Damon and Stefan trailed after him and caught up to him on the porch just as the butler opened the door._

"_Ah, Masters Salvatore, come in." He said he moved aside for them to enter. _

_The three Salvatores entered the house and the butler closed the door behind them. The three males handed the butler their coats and took them to the coat room as they started to walk towards the ballroom, well familiar with the house._

_The party was in full swing. Parents and adults were talking, obviously making business deals, kids were in the corner talking quietly, and teenagers and young adults' were on the dance flooring, dancing the traditional dance of Mystic Falls._

"_Oh, Giuseppe!"_

_The Salvatores turned to see William Forbes, Elizabeth's father, walking towards them with a beaming smile. Giuseppe flashed his faux friendly smile as he and William shook hands. Damon and Stefan rolled their eyes, they knew their father only put up with the sheriff to get in the town's good graces, not that he needed to, as well as Stefan and Damon's friendship with Elizabeth._

"_Good to see you Sheriff." Giuseppe said with a straight face._

"_Please, it's my daughter's birthday; call me William," William insisted, "Ah, Damon, Stefan, wonderful to see you!" _

"_You as well, Mr. Forbes," Damon said politely, "So, where is Elizabeth?"_

"_She is in her bedroom wither mother, getting ready. Ah, here she comes now!" William said as he looked over Damon's shoulder._

_The Salvatore turned around to see Elizabeth Forbes enter as everyone turned to look at her. Her hair was done in strawberry blonde waves that cascaded down her back. She was dressed in a simple white corset that was rather elegant on her. She had no makeup on though, she didn't need to, she had more of a natural beauty. In short, she looked magnificent._

_If Stefan wasn't fourteen years old and incapable of thinking of her as anything but an older sister, Stefan might be tongue-tied. Sneaking a glance at Damon, he sees that his brother doesn't feel the same. Damon's jaw had dropped and his eyes were wide, staring at Elizabeth. Evidently, Giuseppe had also noticed Damon's reaction and eyed his son and Elizabeth a smile that Stefan knew he had something planed._

"_Well Gentle men," William told them as he took a glass of wine off a tray from a servant, "let's have a grand time tonight."_

"Stefan, Stefan!"

Stefan was brought out of his memories by someone shaking his shoulder violently. He turned to meet Caroline's worried gaze as dropped her hand from his shoulder. She and Elena looked at him questionably and he smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, got lost in thought." He apologized.

"So what happened at this party?" Elena asked him.

"Nothing really, it was just a normal party. We danced, we laughed, we had a good time, everything was normal until the next morning." Stefan told her.

"What happened the next morning?" Caroline asked curiously.

"Her family woke up and she was missing," Stefan explained, "there was a search party, it went on for weeks, but eventually we all gave up. Damon was inconsolable for weeks afterwards."

"So…how is she alive?" Elena asked curiously.

"That's the million dollar question Elena." Stefan said as he took a drink.

"So Damon has a date with here?" Elena asked trying-and failing-to keep the jealousy out of her voice.

"Damon claims that he's just catching up with an old friend but I don't know about that." Stefan admitted.

"Why do you seem so unsure that they're not just catching up?" Caroline asked curiously.

"If Elizabeth hadn't disappeared and Katherine hadn't come to Mystic Falls…" Stefan trialed off but his meaning was clear.

Elena looked away, emotions raging inside her. She was jealous, angry, and sad all at the same time. She jealous of the strong relationship that this woman had once shared with Damon, mad that Damon had never told her about Elizabeth, and sad that…sad that he was moving on.

She should be happy that he was moving on, they couldn't be together anymore. They were bad for each other. So why did she want to find Elizabeth and rip her throat out?

Mystic Falls

6:45 P.M.

Damon and Elizabeth were walking through town. They had spent the dinner just making small talk, catching up. Elizabeth still wouldn't tell him how she was still alive, though she did admit she was not a vampire. Damon still had other concerns though.

Suddenly, Elizabeth stopped walking. Damon stopped and noticed she was looking around with a smile. Damon looked at where they were and immediately understood why; they were in the town square.

"Do you remember what happened here?" Elizabeth asked with a wistful tone.

"Yeah," Damon nodded with a slight smile, "this is where we first met."

_Mystic Falls town square, 1849_

_Nine year old Damon was walking around the festival with his mother. His father had stayed home with two year old Stefan, which was fine with Damon. This way he could spend some time with his mother without his father interfering._

_Damon and Mary stopped walking as Mary spotted a friend and the two started catching up. As Damon waited patiently for his mother, he saw something that caught his attention._

_A blonde haired girl about his age was surrounded by three boys a couple of years older than her. She seemed scared as the boys eyed her smirking. Frowning distastefully, Damon approached them._

"_Is there a problem here ma'am?" Damon asked the girl as he approached the group._

"_There's no problem here, is there?" one of the boys asked threateningly._

"_I wasn't asking you," Damon reminded him, "but if there is, my father is Giuseppe Salvatore and I would hate to have to bring this to his attention."_

_The three boys slowly backed away, fearful expressions on the faces. Once they far enough away, they started running. Damon's shoulders relaxed and he turned to the girl, concerned._

"_Are you okay?" He asked her._

"_Because of you, thank you." The girl told him gratefully._

"_It was no problem ma'am," Damon told her as he held out his hand for her to shake, "my name is Damon Salvatore."_

"_Elizabeth Forbes." She introduced herself as she accepted his hand shake._

Both Damon and Elizabeth smiled fondly at the memory. But then Damon's smile turned into a frown as he turned to Elizabeth.

"Where'd you go?" Damon demanded causing Elizabeth to sigh in exasperation.

"Damon-" the vampire cut her off.

"Don't give me any lame ass excuse, you disappeared. I thought you were dead, I have spent decades mourning you and now you show up, you know my brother and I are vampires, and you haven't aged a day yet you're not a vampire? Come on Elizabeth, I deserve some answers." Damon told her angrily.

"Damon…it's complicated. And it's just not something I'm comfortable talking about right now. I promise I will tell you everything, just not right now, okay?" She pleaded with him.

Damon was silent for a moment, making her wonder if he would actually let it go. Then, he sighed, seemingly in resignation, and looked at her solemnly.

"Okay, I'll let it go…for now." Damon promised her.

A little ways away, behind a building, Enzo watched this. Enzo pulled out his cell phone and started to prepare a text.

Outside the Lockwood Mansion

6:50 P.M.

"So, This Elizabeth girl is an old friend of Damon's that he's going on a date with?" Bonnie asked as she, Stefan, Caroline, and Elena approached the mansion.

"Pretty much." Caroline nodded.

"And you two don't trust her?" Bonnie asked Elena and Caroline.

"Nope." Caroline said while Elena simply scowled.

"Elena…are you sure your suspicions are not rooted in jealousy?" Bonnie asked gently.

"Maybe they are, but don't you think its suspicious how she seems to show up just as Markos makes an appearance?" Elena asked looking to see if her jealousy really was clouding her vision.

"You're right, it is suspicious," Stefan told them causing the girls to look at him, "which is why I had Enzo follow them tonight."

"You did?" Elena was relieved that her jealousy wasn't making her crazy.

"Yes, he should be checking in soon," Stefan said just as his phone went off, speak of the devil."

Stefan pulled out his phone as they all stopped. Stefan flipped his phone open and checked Enzo's text. His eye brows narrowed as he read the text.

"They ate dinner at the grill and now they're just walking around town, reminiscing." Stefan told them as he put his phone away.

"So does that mean we should trust Elizabeth?" Caroline asked confused.

"No, but it doesn't mean we shouldn't either." Stefan told her as he started walking up the porch with the other's following.

Stefan knocked on the door and they waited for a few moments. The door opened and they were all surprised to see Luke standing there. Luke looked just as surprised to see them before the five of them managed to overcome their shock.

"What are you doing here?" Elena demanded.

"It's…complicated. You better come inside." Luke told them as he moved aside so they could come in.

Confused, the three Vampires and former witch walked inside. Luke closed the door behind them and gestured for them to follow him. The four of them followed the Warlock into the living room. Matt and Tyler were on separate couches, being carefully watched by Liv and Jeremy respectively. Luke cleared his throat causing everyone to turn their attention to the rooms five other occupants.

"We have visitors." Luke said as he gestured to the newcomers.

"What's going on?" Bonnie said as she and the others took in the scene.

Everyone was silent, unsure of what to say. Eventually, Liv started walking over to them. They looked at Liv as she stopped in front of them, looking very serious.

"Let's go to the dining room, we can talk in there." She told them solemnly.

Without waiting for a response, Liv walked past them. All of them attempting to repress there annoyance, the four of them followed leaving Matt, Tyler, Jeremy, and Luke in the living room. They walked down the hall until they walked into a room with a large, long white table. Liv turned around to face them with a grim expression.

"The Traveler knife is missing." Liv told them.

"What?!" Elena exclaimed.

"Oh my god." Caroline gasped.

"How is that possible?" Stefan demanded.

"One of three residence of the house has a passenger inside them, and Jeremy can't be mind controlled, so that leaves Tyler and Matt." Liv explained.

"How do we get it out of them?" Bonnie asked her.

"I don't know; our best bet is to find the traveler knife." Liv admitted.

"That's your best idea? I don't why we're even listening to you since you've done nothing but cause us problems since you arrived!" Bonnie shouted at Liv angrily.

Evidently, this was the wrong thing to say. Liv's eyes flash in anger and her nostril's flared. Magical energy crackled in the air. Bonnie, Stefan, Elena, and Caroline suddenly realized just how dangerous Liv really was.

"I have done everything I can to protect Stefan and Elena! Luke and I had a witch protecting Stefan's Doppelganger but Enzo killed him because you and your friends couldn't figure out Elena wasn't Elena. When I decided to spare Elena, I teamed up with Jeremy, Matt, and Tyler to take out the passengers."

Liv paused, breathing heavily. Stefan, Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie stared at her, shocked at her outburst. They could also recognize the truth in them; this situation would doubtfully be occurring at the pace it was if they had figured out that Katherine had possessed Elena. Liv turned towards Stefan with an angry look.

"And your old friend, Elizabeth Forbes, you want to know how she's alive? She is an immortal Witch, moreover, an immortal Traveler. She is working with Markos, Stefan. The best way to get to someone is through the heart, so I recruited Damon to seduce her, gain her trust so we can find out what the travelers have planned for you and Elena!" She shouted at him.

"A young lady shouldn't shout at her guests."

Everyone turned to see a woman standing in the doorway. She had blonde hair that was tied back in a bun and blue-green eyes. She appeared to be in her mid to late thirties and war dressed in a red shirt, blue jeans, and green tennis shoes. She looked like an older version of Liv, Stefan thought.

"Mom, what are you doing here?" Liv asked surprised.

"Can't a mother visit her children?" The woman said as she walked into the room.

"Well, uh, mom this is-" her mother cut Liv off.

"Stefan Salvatore, Elena Gilbert, Bonnie Bennett, and Caroline Forbes," Liv's mother said pointing to the correct person as she spoke their name, "I am Cassandra Parker, although the witch community mostly knows me as 'the Oracle.'"

Bonnie gasped, causing everyone to turn to her. She stared at Cassandra with a mix of shock, disbelief, and admiration. Cassandra chuckled softly as everyone stared at Bonnie.

"I take it you've heard of me." Cassandra noted.

"You're the Oracle, the witch who can see into the past, present, and future." Bonnie said a hint of admiration in her voice.

"Yes." Cassandra nodded smiling.

"Well, as nice as it was to meet you, I have a brother to find." Stefan said as politely as he could as he walked past her and towards the doorway.

"Then I suppose you don't want to hear about Damon's future." Cassandra called out causing Stefan to stop mid-step.

Everyone turned to Cassandra, shocked. Stefan turned around and walked in front of her. He looked her in the eyes and she almost flinched at the cold, determined look in them.

"Tell me what you know." Stefan demanded.

"This conflict that we are in now threatens to destroy the very planet. The fate of our planet lies in your brothers hands. The resolution will be determined by him.

"He is in the center of everything. He is at a crossroads, two roads, two choices. One shall lead to salvation, one shall lead to destruction. Two women stand in the crossroads, one in each road, one of light, one of darkness. The one who leads him to destruction could be either of them. One will be his soul mate, the other the one who will ruin him." Cassandra finished.

Salvatore Mansion

8:17 P.M.

Stefan, Caroline, Elena, and Bonnie all sat in front of the burning fire place. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts about what they had learned today. Caroline noticed everyone's solemn expressions and decided to try and lighten the mood.

"So it's kind of freaky that the universe appointed Damon our savior huh?" She asked jokingly.

"Not really," Bonnie said ignoring Caroline's joking tone, "I may not like him, but no one can deny that he gets the job done."

Stefan sighed. The girls turned to look at him and noticed his conflicted expression. They exchanged concerned looks before Caroline placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Stefan looked at her confused.

"Are you okay Stefan?" Caroline asked concerned.

"No, I don't Liv's plan is going to work." Stefan admitted.

"Well of course, locating the traveler knife is no easy task." Bonnie scoffed.

"No," Stefan shook his head as the girls stared at him, "I…I don't think Damon has what it takes to betray Elizabeth."

"Why?" Bonnie asked as Elena and Caroline exchanged an uneasy glance.

"Because Bonnie, Elizabeth is not just some girl that Damon knew back when we were human, he loved her," Stefan told her, "I should know, I was there the last time the two of them saw each other."

_Forbes mansion, 1861_

_Towards the party's end_

_Stefan was sitting on the stairs, waiting for his father and brother so they could leave. Hearing laughing, he turned his head so he could see who it was. It was his brother and Elizabeth, laughing like they had no care in the world. Stefan wanted to give them some privacy, but he couldn't move without being heard._

"_So, how many men attempted to woo you tonight?" Damon asked with a laugh in his voice._

"_I lost count after twelve." Elizabeth admitted laughing._

"_Well, you know they shall never stop until you accept a man's proposal." Damon pointed out his laughter fading._

"_Yes, but I shall not Marry for politics or money. I shall marry for love, I shall marry someone who I love and who loves me." Elizabeth said firmly._

"_Well then, I wish you the best of luck in your search for that man." Damon said with a smile._

_The two of them were silent for a moment, simply staring into each other's eyes with a look that Stefan could describe. Then, then began to lean closer to each other, closing the distance between them. They closed their eyes just as their lips were about to meet when… _

"_Damon!"_

_They jumped apart and looked to the intruder. Giuseppe was striding towards them, a stern look on his face. Stefan was worried that his father had seen them, but his next words assured that he had not._

"_Have you seen Stefan?" Giuseppe asked._

"_I thought he was with you father." Damon told him a hint of worry coloring his voice. _

_Stefan got of the steps as quietly as possible and started walking from behind the stairs so it look like he had come from down the hall._

"_I'm here father." Stefan announce as he came into view._

"_Ah, there you are. Well boys, it's time for us to go. Thank you for the invitation, Ms. Forbes." Giuseppe thanked Elizabeth before he started walking towards the door with his two sons following, each of them throwing a glance back at Elizabeth._

The three women were silent, each absorbing Stefan's tale. They all brought out of their thoughts by the sound of the front door opening and closing. They heard a pair of heavy footsteps coming toward them and they all stood up as Damon came into the room. Damon crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe.

"So Liv tells me you know. " Damon told them casually.

"Yeah, what else did she tell you?" Elena asked as she wondered if he knew about the prophecy.

"Nothing, should she have?" Damon asked as his eyes locked with hers.

"No." Elena almost squeaked as his eyes had the same effect on her they always had.

"Damon," Stefan bringing his brother's attention to him, "are you sure you have what it takes to betray Elizabeth?"

"I'll do what have to Stefan," Damon told him firmly, "I will do whatever it takes to protect you and Elena, because I'm willing to protect the people I love by any means necessary, even if that means screwing over an old friend. If you don't know that by now, then maybe you don't know me at all, brother."

Damon then left the room, leaving them too stunned to form a single reply. And leaving Elena with some things to think over.

**So, please leave any thoughts or comments in a review or PM me. Later!**


	3. Flaring tension and a betrayal

**I do not own Vampire Diaries or anything you recognize. I do own Elizabeth.**

The Grill

11:15 A.M., the next day

"This is a bad idea." Caroline muttered to Elena as they eyed the couple across The Grill.

"Liv said that Damon may need help if this goes badly." Elena reminded her just as quietly.

"I don't think she meant for us to spy on Damon." Caroline whispered back heatedly.

Elena ignored her friend as she stared at the couple's table like a hawk. Across the room, Damon and Elizabeth were talking about some event from their past. They laughed together as they talked.

"…And Stefan looked like a goldfish when Rosia Fell asked him to Dance." Damon recalled laughing.

"I remember. Though it was nothing compared to how he looked when my little sister asked him to dance." Elizabeth reminisced with a smile.

"He always did have a little crush on her." Damon chuckled as took a drink.

"So…friends of yours?" Elizabeth asked as she jerked her head in Elena and Caroline's direction.

"It's just my ex-girlfriend and a descendent of your sister." Damon explained.

"Which one?" Elizabeth asked as she looked at Caroline and Elena.

"The blonde." Damon said as he placed his drink down on the table.

Elizabeth turned to Caroline with an inquisitive look in her eyes. Caroline felt nervous under her great aunt's gaze. The two Forbes's locked eyes for several seconds before Elizabeth turned away. Caroline sighed in relief as Elizabeth took a drink before setting her glass down on the table in front of her.

"I don't see much of a resemblance besides the hair." Elizabeth admitted.

"No, your sister's descendents really didn't inherit much of her looks." Damon agreed.

"So…what have you been up to for the last century and a half?" Elizabeth inquired curiously.

"Ah, I've been around. Did some traveling, went to Italy for awhile, and stayed in New Orleans for a bit. Great cities; might go back there someday," Damon told her, "how about you?"

"I've been around," She said vaguely, "do you ever…think back to that time."

"The first few decades I turned, it was all I could think about," Damon admitted softly, "every now and then, it'll pop into my head."

"I wonder what would have happened had our fathers gone through with their plans." Elizabeth mumbled, almost to herself.

"What plans?" Damon asked her confused.

Elizabeth looked at him with a confused look for a moment before her eyes lit up in realization. She looked at him surprised as he looked at her impatiently, waiting for her to answer him.

"You really don't know do you?" She asked him in disbelief.

"Know what?" Damon growled out beginning to get annoyed.

"The night of my party, I overheard our fathers talking," Elizabeth began slowly; "they were discussing arranging a…marriage…between us."

The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the restaurant. Damon and Elizabeth turned to see what had caused the sound. Elena flicked pieces of her shattered glass off her hand, looking like she was seething. Caroline leaned over, a believable worried expression on her face.

"Elena are you alright?" She asked in a fake worried voice.

"I'm fine." The Doppelganger growled in a tight voice.

"Well…this just got uncomfortable." Damon muttered.

"Want to get out of here and go somewhere more private?" Elizabeth suggested.

"Absolutely." Damon agreed.

Damon and Elizabeth got up, Damon putting down a twenty on the table. The couple walked toward the exit with Elena watching them like a hawk. If looks could kill, Elizabeth would be dead a thousand times over by now.

Lockwood Mansion

11:25 A.M.

Stefan, Liv and Cassandra were in the living room. Cassandra was sitting on the couch with Liv standing close by her while Stefan was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. The three of them were discussing the disappearance of the traveler knife.

"Without the traveler knife, we have no way of getting rid of the passenger inside Matt or Tyler, or getting rid of any other passengers." Stefan pointed out.

"You don't think we know that!" Liv snapped at him.

"Stop bickering you two," Cassandra scolded lightly causing them to turn to turn to her, "there is a simple solution to our problem."

"What is it mom?" Liv asked her mother in a gentle voice.

"Since our traveler knife is missing, we simply make a new one." Cassandra told her daughter.

"You can do that?" Stefan asked surprised.

"I can see into the past Stefan. I know how the knives were made, it should be no problem to make one now." She assured the vampire.

"What do we need to do?" Liv asked as she straightened in a business like stance.

"First, you're going to need a block of wood and a chunk of silver…"

Salvatore Boarding house

12:31 P.M.

Tyler and Matt were playing pool while Jeremy and Luke watched. Tyler was getting frustrated that Matt kept winning. Suddenly, Tyler felt his phone vibrate as it rang. Tyler dug out his phone and looked at who was calling. Not recognizing the number, he frowned before answering it.

"Hello?" He answered uncertainly.

The person on the other line, an unknown male with a deep voice, said something he couldn't understand, probably in another language. Matt, Jeremy, and Luke saw Tyler's eyes turn pure black before they returned to normal. 'Tyler' hung up the phone with a strange expression on his face.

Realizing what had happened, Luke began to give the passenger an aneurism. As the passenger grabbed his head in pain, Jeremy tackled him to the floor. Grunting in pain, The Passenger threw Jeremy off him before blurring over to Luke. The Passenger put Luke in a neck lock and began to apply pressure on the front of the Warlock's neck, chocking him.

"Back off or I'll kill him." The passenger growled.

Jeremy stood up and then he and Matt held up their hands in a peace making gesture. The passenger slowly backed up towards the door as he slightly lessened the pressure on Luke's neck. Once he reached the door, he roughly threw Luke at them. Luke landed on Jeremy, causing them to fall to the floor as the Passenger blurred out the door.

Lockwood Mansion

12:33 P.M.

Stefan was using a saw to carve a knife handle out of the wood he had brought while wearing safety glasses. Over by the fire place, Liv and Cassandra were chanting as the block of silver melted in the bronze pot that was in the fire place. Over the noise of the saw, Stefan heard his cell phone ringing. Stefan turned off the saw and took off the safety glass before he answered his phone.

"Yeah?" He answered.

"The Passenger is in Tyler." Jeremy told him.

"Let me guess, you had an incident." Stefan said as a statement.

"Someone called Tyler and said the trigger word that lets the passenger take over. It roughed up Luke a bit before bolting." Jeremy told him.

"Damn it. Try and find him, I'm working with Liv and Cassandra on something that can help us." Stefan explained.

"It won't matter." Cassandra spoke from her spot by the fire place.

"Hold on Jeremy," Stefan said before taking the phone away from his ear and covering the speaker, "what are you talking about?

"If he goes to Tyler, he will be walking into the den of the Traveler's. They will kill him on the spot," Cassandra told the horrified vampire, "our best bet is to get the traveler knife completed then go after Tyler."

Stefan nodded before uncovering the phone and putting it to his ear once again. "Don't worry about Tyler for now. Wait until we are done here, then we will go after him together. You're just going to get yourself killed if you go after him alone."

Stefan then hung up and the three of them went back to work.

Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena's dorm room

12:45 P.M.

"So Damon and Elizabeth were supposed to get married?" Bonnie gasped in surprise.

"According to Elizabeth, anyway." Caroline told her friend.

"And…Elena was there when you guys found out?" Bonnie asked.

"Yep." Caroline winced at the memory.

"How'd she take it?" Bonnie asked concerned.

"Well, one moment she was holding a glass…then she holding its remains." Caroline said slowly.

"That bad huh?" Bonnie asked sarcastically.

"If vampires had heat vision, Elizabeth would be a smoking skeleton." Caroline admitted.

"Where is she now?" Bonnie asked worried.

"She's continuing to spy on Damon and Elizabeth." Caroline told her.

"You let her go?!" Bonnie exploded.

"There was no stopping her; she was a woman on a mission." Caroline said defensively.

Mystic Falls

12:51 P.M.

Damon and Elizabeth walked through the streets, each lost in their own thoughts. Behind a building not far from them, but not close enough to be heard by them, Elena peered around the corner. Elizabeth placed her hand on Damon's shoulder, causing him to turn his head to her.

"Are you okay? I realize this is a lot to take in." Elizabeth said softly.

"It is a lot to take in," Damon agreed, "My father never told me."

"He probably didn't see the point. He probably thought that I had been killed by some vampire and left in the woods for the animals to dispose of." Elizabeth suggested.

"Still, now that I know…I can't help but think of the life we could have had together." Damon admitted.

"I've thought of it millions of times over the centuries. I can show you…if you want." Elizabeth suggested softly.

Damon stopped and looked at Elizabeth startled. Elena barely managed to suppress a gasp. Damon and Elizabeth turned to face each other and they stared at each other for a few moments.

"What are you talking about?" Damon demanded.

"I'm a witch; I can show you how I envisioned our life together. But it's your choice." Elizabeth told him.

"…do it." Damon said his voice thick with emotion.

Elizabeth reached up and cupped Damon's face. She moved his head closer to hers so they could stare into each other's eyes…

_Damon was standing at the altar with Stefan standing behind him, both brothers' wearing tuxes. Across from him, Elizabeth was wearing an 1800's wedding dress with her sister wearing a white dress next to her. Standing before them was a preacher holding a Bible._

"_I know pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Damon Salvatore! You may kiss the bride." The preacher announced happily._

_Damon and Elizabeth walked towards each other and kissed as everyone cheered and applauded._

_Damon was in a bed room, kissing Elizabeth. Clothes were quickly being removed._

_Damon was in a kitchen of a house he didn't recognize. Damon was drinking some tea when he someone come into the room. He turned around to see Elizabeth with a rounded stomach. She reached to get a cup from a cabinet but Damon rushed over and got it for her. She gave him a look that was half annoyance and half amusement._

"_I am pregnant, not disabled." She reminded him._

"_I am your husband and you are caring my child, it is within my rights to be protective of your both." Damon told her. _

_She laughed before pulling him in for a kiss._

_Damon was sitting next to Elizabeth who was in a bed and looked exhausted. She had a bundle in her arms that she and Damon were looking down at. Wrapped in the bundle was a baby boy with Damon's dark hair and Elizabeth's green eyes. Damon and Elizabeth looked at each other and smiled._

Elizabeth lowered her hands from Damon's face. Damon took a shaky breath as he tried to sort through his emotions. That as everything he had dreamed about when he was a child, everything he had always wanted pre-Katherine. But…

"That was just a fantasy," Damon told her, "the real world wouldn't work that way. There would have been problems, there is no such thing as a perfect life. Anyone who does think there is are only fooling themselves."

Elizabeth looked stunned and a little hurt by what he said. From her hiding spot, Elena couldn't help but remember her own words. _I saw a perfect life._ But Damon was right, neither of those worlds were real, it was just a fantasy made up by a traveler hoping to manipulate them.

Elizabeth seemed to snap out of her hurt daze and she reaches for him again. She cups his face again and forces him to look into the whites of her eyes.

"Maybe, but this, this right here? This is real." Elizabeth tells him.

Elizabeth begins to pulls his head down to hers. Damn knows what she is doing, and he could stop her, he could pull away. But that would ruin the plan and for the plan to work he needed Elizabeth to let her guard down around him, so he didn't pull away.

Elizabeth pulled him into a kiss to which he immediately responded. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Some passing people smiled at what they thought was young love.

Behind the building, Elena attempted to blink back tears, but they still came. Elena turned away from the scene that was making her heart break and blurred away.

Lockwood Mansion

5:21 P.M.

Stefan held up the knife handle that had had a slot for the blade in it. Liv, with oven mitts, was holding the bronze pot that had the melted silver in it. Cassandra nodded as she turned to Stefan.

"Place the handle on the floor then back away." She ordered.

Looking confused, Stefan placed the piece of wood he had made on the floor in front of him. He then straightened up and stepped back a few paces. Cassandra then turned to her daughter with a just as serious look.

"Slowly pour the melted Silver onto the floor." She instructed Liv.

"What? But mom!" Liv protested.

"Pour it on to the floor, Liv." Cassandra ordered in a slightly raised voice.

Still looking like she wanted to protest, Liv slowly began to tipping the pot and the silver liquid began to pour onto the floor. As it reached the floor, Cassandra began chanting softly. The silver liquid started moving towards the wooded handle, even as it poured onto the floor. The liquid stretched itself across the room and reached the knife, pulling itself inside the slot. Once it had filled the slot, the rest lined up outside the handle until it was in the shape of a blade. Once it had, the liquid hardened until it looked like Metal or steel. Cassandra walked over to it and picked it up off the ground.

"That's it?" Stefan asked skeptically.

"No," Cassandra assured him, "it now needs to be charmed. It will take up to two hours and requires two witches."

"You and Liv." Stefan realized.

"After which we will be too exhausted to do a locater spell on your friend Tyler. It will be best for you to go home and get some rest then come back with your friends tomorrow." Cassandra told him.

Stefan nodded in agreement before turning around and walking out the door.

Salvatore Boarding house

6:01 P.M.

"So Elizabeth was supposed to be my sister in law?" Stefan asked Caroline and Bonnie shocked.

"According to her anyway." Bonnie shrugged.

"Okay, my mind is officially blown." Stefan declared as he shook his head in exasperation.

Stefan snuck a peak at Elena, who was in a bad mood for some reason. Ever since she had come in with Caroline and Bonnie, she just sat down on the couch and crossed her arms with an angry look on her face. Stefan wondered if her mood had anything to do with what she had seen when she was spying on his brother and Elizabeth.

Suddenly, they all heard the front door close. The four of them stood up as Damon walked in the doorway. Damon leaned against the door frame with his arms crossed wearing a smirk.

"Is there a party going on here that I don't know about?" Damon quipped with a smirk.

"How'd it go with Elizabeth?" Stefan asked ignoring his brother's joke.

"I think she's starting to let her guard down." Damon said as he became serious.

"Really, you sure that had nothing to do with you putting your tongue down her throat?" Elena spat at him.

"Wait, you kissed Elizabeth?" Stefan asked as he and the other two girls looked at him surprised.

"A: she kissed me. B: if I'm going to woo her to get the information we need, I can't not kiss her." Damon pointed out.

As Stefan, Bonnie, and Caroline nodded slowly, seeing his point, Elena huffed and turned away. Damon seeing this, growled angrily before going off.

"Why are you mad when I should be the one that is angry at you for spying on me?" Damon demanded.

"Maybe because you're sleeping with the enemy." Elena accused.

"I'm not sleeping with her, but if I was it would be none of your business. We broke, we're _bad for each other,_ remember?" Damon said sarcastically.

"Why the emphasis on 'Bad for each other?' Elena asked.

"Because it's a lie, it's not why you decided we needed to break up." Damon told her.

Stefan, Caroline, and Bonnie were stunned by this declaration. They expected Elena to deny it, to set him straight. However, Elena looked away from them all, almost sheepishly.

"So, she's not allowed to be angry that you killed her friend?" Caroline demanded angrily.

"I'm not denying that she was angry with me for killing Aaron Whitmore, she has every right to," Damon agreed, "but that's not she decided we needed to break up."

"Then what is, oh wise one?" Caroline asked mockingly.

"You!" Damon told her seriously.

Caroline was as shocked as Stefan and Bonnie. Almost as surprising was the fact that Elena didn't correct him.

"Well, you and Bonnie. Neither of you are willing to accept her for who she is now. When we become vampires, we change. You changed Blondie, so why can't she? Instead of accepting her, you are trying to force her to return who she was when she was human. Newsflash!, she's not human, she's a vampire. You would rather have her return to that girl who was full of light that saw the world in a narrow minded point of view then have her for who she is now, so much so that when Katherine pretended to be that, you couldn't tell the difference. She is tired of waiting for you to accept her, so she decided to make it look like she is by getting rid of the one thing you two have a problem with the most: her relationship with me." Damon explained.

"That's not true." Bonnie denied.

"Really, well then speak up Elena. Go ahead; look me in the eye and tell me I'm wrong." Damon challenged.

Caroline and Bonnie looked to Elena, waiting for her to do just that. But she didn't, she simply stayed where she was, looking away from all of them. Damon smirked victoriously as Caroline and Bonnie looked at each other dismayed and slightly guilty.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. When you're ready to stop letting your two so called 'best friends' run your life, you know where to find me," Damon told her before turning to his brother, "I'm turning in for the night Stefan."

Damn then turned around and walked out of the room. Shortly after, Elena walked out, mumbling something about waiting in the car. An awkward silence filled the room as the three remaining occupants shuffled around awkwardly.

"Stefan, do you agree with Damon?" Bonnie asked the vampire.

Stefan looked at her with a blank expression. Caroline and Bonnie were expecting him to deny it. To say that Damon was wrong, that Damon and Elena's issues had nothing to do with them.

"I think it's late, and you two should get going." Stefan told them before he to left the room.

Markos's hideout

7:11 P.M.

Markos was sitting in a chair when heard someone walk into the room. He looked up and saw Elizabeth. Markos smiled at her before he stood up and walked over to her.

"Did you do it?" He asked her.

"Yes, I did the Marking spell on him." Elizabeth told him.

Suddenly, they felt a breeze blow on them as the wind chimes that hung by the door jingled. The two Travelers smiled brightly at each other, realizing what this meant.

"He's here." Markos said.

"And it's time to do the spell." Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth and Markos joined hands and began chanting. They wind started to pick up and the wind chimes started hitting each other pretty hard. Suddenly, there was a figure in the room with them. It was a shadowy figure, like a shapeless blur. It stood in the room for a moment before taking off. It passed right through the wall at incredible speed.

Salvatore Boarding house

7:25 P.M.

The shadowy figure passed through the doors and sped towards the stairs. It sped up the staircase and into the hallway. It passed several rooms before stopping at one. It passed through the door and sped over to the bed. Damon was sleeping peacefully in his bed as the figure stood above him for a moment. The figure floated down to him and went inside his chest. Once it was completely inside him, Damon opened his eyes with a gasp before his eyes turned pure black…

**So, what do you guys think? Leave any thought so r comments in a review or PM me. Catch ya later! **


	4. Divide and Conquer

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries or anything else you may recognize. I do, however, own Elizabeth.**

**And, in reply to some Guest Reviewers:**

**Kiki: That you for the compliments.**

**BlueJ: Damon is a regular Vampire; I said that Damon was the most dangerous being that was protecting the Doppelgangers, not the most dangerous being period.**

**On with the story!**

Salvatore Boarding house

8:04 A.M.

Stefan was in the kitchen, having a human version of breakfast when he heard a loud noise and someone groan. Confused, and a little wary, Stefan put down his fork and stood up before blurring out of the kitchen. When he got to the stairs, he turned and, stupefied, watched as his brother stumbled down the stairs like a blink man. Damon looked sick, pale and sweating and looking like he was more hung-over than he had ever been. Frowning in concern, Stefan blurred over to him and started help him down the stairs.

"Damon what's wrong?" Stefan asked.

"I don't know I woke up feeling like I had gone out to a wild party as a human." Damon told him as Stefan began to lead him to the kitchen.

"You didn't get up and bust out your stash of Bourbon last night did you?" Stefan asked his brother.

"Not that I remember." Damon told him as Stefan released him to the chair closest to him.

Damon slumped into the chair, putting his elbow on the table as he leaned forward, his hand almost covering his left eye. As Stefan was about to say something, the door bell rang, causing Damon to howl in pain as he clutched his head.

"Make them go away!" Damon pleaded with his brother.

Stefan blurred out of the kitchen and towards the front door. He yanked the front door open to reveal Elena, Caroline, Jeremy, Liv, Luke, and Bonnie on his front porch. Caroline opened her mouth to speak but Stefan made a shushing sound before turning to Liv.

"Liv, I think we might have a problem." Stefan told her grimly.

"Your Hybrid friend has been hijacked by a Traveler, how could things get worse?" She asked sarcastically.

"We assumed that Elizabeth was responding to Damon's advances because she still had feelings for him. But what if that's not the case, what if Elizabeth and Markos are hatching a plan of their own?" Stefan asked her.

"Stefan…what's happened?" Elena asked not liking where this was headed.

Stefan gestured for them to come in as he stepped aside. Looking confused and a little worried, the group entered the Boarding house. Stefan led them through the house and into the kitchen. When they saw the state that Damon was in, they stopped in their tracks. They were shocked at how pale he was and he had bags under his eyes. They didn't even know it was possible for vampires to get bags under their eyes.

"Dude, you look terrible." Jeremy cracked with a smirk.

"I killed you once; I can do it again Gilbert." Damon growled half-heartedly.

"Damon, what happened to you?" Elena asked him concerned as she walked over to him and placed a soothing hand on his arm.

"I don't know I woke up like this." Damon told her softly as he leaned into her too exhausted to care that he was breaking his new 'keep your distance from Elena' rule.

"Liv, is it possible that Elizabeth somehow poisoned Damon through a kiss?" Stefan asked the young witch.

"It's possible, but let me check." Liv said as she walked towards the table.

Damon straightened and Elena stepped away from his as Liv approached. Liv cupped his face then drew her hands back like they'd been burned. She looked freaked, like she'd something truly horrifying.

"Liv, what's wrong?" Luke asked her as he approached his twin.

"The magical energy he is giving off is off the chants," Liv told him shuttering, "I've never anything felt like this, not even from the Travelers or the Doppelganger blood."

"So did she do it?" Caroline asked curiously.

"She definitely did something to him, but I'm not sure what." Liv told the group.

"So what, we still have to find Tyler and get the Passenger out of him?" Jeremy demanded firmly.

"But we can't leave Damon like this." Elena snapped at him.

The siblings stared each other down, each unwilling to back down. Jeremy gave her an incredulous look but she crossed her arms stubbornly, silently telling him that she would not abandon her former lover. Bonnie coughing, causing the siblings to break their silent battle of wills as everyone gave the anchor their attention.

"How about Luke and I stay here while the rest of you track down Tyler?" Bonnie suggested.

"And if Elizabeth show s up, whose gonna stop her?" Jeremy challenged, "She's most likely more than a match for Luke, you don't have your magic anymore, and Damon's more or less useless right now."

"Then I'll take care of her if she shows up."

Everyone turned around to see Enzo leaning against the doorway smirking. Jeremy and Caroline looked weary, as did Stefan, but Elena lowered her arms in grim acceptance, her face showing that she wasn't any happier about this.

"Fine." Elena said in defeat causing Jeremy, Bonnie, and Caroline to turn to her shocked.

"What?" Are you insane?" "Seriously!?" Jeremy, Bonnie, and Caroline shouted respectively.

"Elena?" Stefan said just as surprised.

"I don't trust him anymore than you guys, but I know he'll protect Damon if he needs to." Elena told them.

As she said this, she looked at Enzo, silently telling him that if she was wrong, he would suffer a very painful death. Enzo smirked at this but nodded, letting her know he would do as she said. She relaxed before turning her concerned eyes on Damon, who was half passed out on the table.

Unknown Location

8:10 A.M.

The Passenger who was controlling Tyler's body was in an abandoned house. He was drinking blood from a blood bag when his, or rather Tyler's, cell phone rang. He put down the blood bag and dug through his pocket to pull out the phone. The screen said 'unknown number' so it was probably Markos, he thought before answering.

"Yes?" He asked.

"We are moving on to the next phase of our plan. Are you ready Julian?" Markos asked.

"I will do what is needed of me Markos." Julian told him loyally.

"Excellent, your sacrifice will help your people Julian." Markos told him before hanging up.

Salvatore Boarding house

8:12 A.M.

Liv laid out the Map onto the kitchen table. As she flattened it, she looked at everyone else in the room.

"I need something of Tyler's, anyone have something of his on them?" Liv asked curiously.

Everyone immediately turned to a certain blonde haired vampire. When she realized that everyone was staring at her, Caroline held up her hands defensively.

"Don't look at me, I got rid of everything of Tyler's I had at the Bitter Ball." She told them.

"Wait, I have the spare key to our house, will this work?" Matt asked as he pulled out the key.

"One way to find out." Liv said as she held out her hand.

Matt handed her the key and she placed it on the map. Liv closed her eyes and began chanting softly. Eons seemed to pass for the key as it crumbled into a pile of metal dust. The pile began to form a trail from the Boarding house to a new location. Finally it stopped at a house just outside of Mystic Falls.

"There he is." Liv told them casually.

"Aright everyone, let's go." Stefan said determined as he turned and started walking out of the room.

Caroline, Jeremy, and Liv followed him out the door, but Elena lingered by the doorway. Damon glanced over and their eyes met. A silent communication seemed to pass between them, as longing, passion, and love were mirrored in each other's eyes.

"Elena, are you coming?" Caroline called back.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Elena said as she finally broke her and Damon's gaze and followed the others out of the kitchen.

"Okay, let's see if I can figure out what happened to you." Luke said as he walked over to Damon.

Lockwood Mansion

9:21 A.M.

Cassandra was walking over to the kitchen table with a glass of ice tea when she suddenly stiffened. She dropped the ice tea and it shattered on the floor as her mind was taken by a vision.

_Stefan and Elena were running urgently. They weren't running from something, but towards something, as though their very lives depended on it. They busted a door down to reveal Damon tied to a chair, unconscious, with Markos standing behind him, holding his head chanting. But Markos was not the only other person in the room._

_A creature of pure darkness was standing over Damon. It gave a ting growl before pouncing on Damon and seeming to vanish inside Damon. But then, Damon's eyes snapped open and he let out an agonized scream as darkness seemed to cover his body, as the ropes around him broke._

"_Damon!" Elena and Stefan shouted in union horrified._

_The darkness covered Damon from head to toe and his eyes became two white sideways triangles. As Markos released him, Damon stood up. The creature of Darkness had taken over Damon; he had become the creature…_

Cassandra used the table to balance herself as she calmed her facing heart. She pulled out her cell phone but before could dial it flew out of her hand. She turned around as it flew into the hand of a beautiful strawberry blonde. Cassandra frowned as eyed the woman.

"Elizabeth I presume?" Cassandra said knowingly.

"You assume correctly." Elizabeth told her coldly.

"Elizabeth…regardless of any feelings you may or may not have for Damon, he was once your best friend. Do you not feel any guilt for betraying him?" Cassandra asked empathetically.

"Damon is a means to an end, Collateral damage, as regrettable as that damage itself is. So no, I feel no guilt. Any other questions?" Elizabeth asked callously.

"No, I know everything I need to know about you." Cassandra told her ominously.

_Forbes Mansion, 1861 _

_The night of Elizabeth's party_

_Elizabeth was in her bed, sleeping peacefully before she began tossing and turning in her sleep. She started to moan in discomfort. Her eyes snapped open and she shot up in bed with a gasp. She attempted to catch her breath before she noticed that she wasn't alone in her room. _

"_Hello Elizabeth, I am Markos." Markos greeted her politely._

"_How'd you get in here?" Elizabeth asked fearfully as she pulled her bedspread over her body._

"_I have been watching you for quite some time from the other side." Markos told her._

"_What's the other side?" Elizabeth demanded._

"_It is the purgatory where all supernatural beings go when they die." Markos explained to her._

"_Supernatural beings?" Elizabeth repeated confused._

"_Vampires, werewolves, even Warlocks like me." Markos explained to her._

"_So why have you been watching me?" Elizabeth asked suspiciously. _

"_You have the potential to become a very powerful witch. If you so desire, you can come with me and can teach you how to harness your power." Markos offered._

"_No, I can't." Elizabeth refused as Damon's face seemed to etch itself into her mind's eye._

"_Ah, the young Salvatore," Markos nodded before looking her straight in the eye, "And what kind of life do you think you would have with him? Marry him, have his children, continue the Salvatore line, and become known as no one of important significance? If you join me and my people, you can become a woman in your own right, all you must do is leave behind your life hear, what do you say?"_

"You joined him, taking his instruction. You snuck out of your house and followed his directions to the travelers. They taught you a lot of things, the most important being your supposed immortality. Tell me Elizabeth, how many bodies have you taken over and changed to your likeness?" Cassandra demanded.

"Enough." Elizabeth told her callously.

Cassandra was about to speak again when she once again had a vision.

_The creature of Darkness held a gasping Elena and Stefan by their throats when it was suddenly restrained. It dropped them as two beings of light held its arms back. One creature of light reached over and placed their hand by the creature's heart and pulled. The creature of Darkness howled as the darkness_ _seemed to be pulled from it. Damon was released as the creature of Darkness seemed to evaporate into nothingness._

"What did you see?" Elizabeth demanded as she saw Cassandra come back.

"Enough to know that your plan will fail." Cassandra told her coolly.

"We shall see." Elizabeth said with a wicked smirk.

Elizabeth reached her hand of the side before making a fast sweeping motion. A large kitchen knife flew out of the wooden holder and towards Cassandra. The knife flew across her throat, silting her throat. Blood spewed out from it, soaking her shirt. She gasped for breath before falling the floor as she bleed out in a pool of blood.

Salvatore Boarding house

9:27 A.M.

Luke chanted as he held Damon's hand. Damon was looking increasingly uncomfortable as Enzo snickered at his friend. Bonnie smiled at her frenemy before feeling a breeze behind her. She turned to see Cassandra behind her and realized what had happened.

"Something wrong?" Enzo asked her.

"Someone just died." She explained to him.

"Anyone we know?" Damon called out from behind them.

"No." Bonnie told him not wanting to distract Luke.

"It will all be alright Bonnie, everything will work out." Cassandra told her with a soft smile.

Bonnie nodded before reaching her handing out. Cassandra smiled at her again before taking Bonnie's outstretched hand, vanishing as she did. As Cassandra vanished, Bonnie let out an agonized scream as she felt a searing pain on her neck before it vanished.

Outside Mystic Falls, Julian's location

9:35 A.M.

Stefan, Elena, Jeremy, Caroline, and Liv walked inside the abandoned house. Seeing no one in the living room, Stefan signaled to move forward and they slowly walked farther into the house. They walked into the kitchen and at first they didn't notice anyone in the room, but then Stefan felt someone behind him. Stefan whirled around and punched the Passenger in the face.

The Passenger flew into the wall before his eyes turned gold and his showed his fangs. He went to attack them but then fell to his knee, grabbing head as he did. Liv starred at him unblinkingly nodding at Stefan. Stefan pulled out the Traveler knife and headed towards the Passenger when it began to laugh. Stefan paused as he eyed the laughing Passenger.

"Something funny?" Stefan asked.

"I just find it amusing that you are all so focused on me that you've lost sight of what's more important." The Passenger said with a twisted smile.

"What are you talking about?" Elena demanded as Stefan lowered the knife.

"Damon woke up feeling pretty hung over didn't he?" The Passenger asked sarcastically.

"What did Elizabeth do to him?" Elena demanded in a dangerous voice.

"I'm not telling." The passenger said with a mocking smirk.

The was a blur of movement and the Passenger gasped as Stefan thrust his hand into Tyler's chest. Caroline and Jeremy gasped in horror but Elena and Liv gave no reaction. As Stefan wrapped his hand around the Hybrid's heard, he looked the Hybrid in the eyes.

"Tell me what she did to my brother." Stefan growled.

"Stefan, this is Tyler!" Caroline reminded him aghast.

"I don't care," He told her before turning his attention back to the Passenger, "what did she do to my brother!"

"I'm not telling you." The Passenger gasped painfully.

"Tell me or I'll rip your heart out!" Stefan shouted.

"Stefan, this is Tyler we are talking about!" Caroline tried to talk him down.

"Caroline, you're my friend, but my brother comes before everything," Stefan told her not once breaking his gaze from the Passenger, "now tell me what you know!"

"It won't matter soon." The passenger gaze a tiny smirk despite his pain.

"And why is that?" Elena asked him coolly.

"Because you've all fallen victim to the most brilliant battle strategy in history: Divide and Conquer." The Passenger told them.

"What are you talking about?" Elena growled.

"I was to serve as a distraction to split up your little group of enforcers. Elizabeth was to deal with the Oracle so she could not warn you of our plan. Finally, Markos and our tribe were to ambush the Salvatore house, deal with Damon's remaining allies and capture Damon." The Passenger explained to them.

Stefan growled deep in his throat before releasing his heart and yanking his hand out of his chest. Before the Passenger could recover, Stefan plunged the knife into Tyler's stomach. The Passenger gasped as his eyes turned pure black before Tyler slumped against Stefan's shoulder.

The Salvatore Boarding House

9:38 A.M.

Luke was chanting when he began to get something finally. Still chanting, his nose began to bleed as he began to get a clearer image before had to stop. Out of breath, he let go of Damon's hands as he wiped the blood off his face with a napkin from the table.

"Did you figure it out?" Damon asked him.

"There's something…inside of you." Luke told him quietly.

"Something like…a passenger?" Bonnie asked worried.

"It's different than a passenger, but the same thing at the same time. It's hard to explain." Luke told them.

Before the conversation could continue, they heard the familiar chanting of the Travelers. They four supernatural beings froze before Enzo straightened. Enzo stood up and looked at Luke imploringly.

"Come on Witch boy, we have unwanted guests to take care of." Enzo told him.

Luke nodded before getting of the chair. The two of them walked out of the kitchen and towards the front door. Before they could reach it, it burst open of its own accord. Luke suddenly found himself pinned to the wall by an invisible force and Enzo fell to his knees as his brain fell victim to a Traveler's magic.

Hearing footstep, both Vampire and Warlock looked up to see Markos walk into the house. He looked around for a moment before his gaze settled on Enzo. He smiled at the vampire, almost apologetically, before the smile turned into a frown and he began to speak.

"Hello Enzo," Markos greeted, "I am afraid…that our deal has been terminated."

Markos flicked his wrist and Enzo's head suddenly turned to the side with a load crack. Luke winced as Enzo fell to the ground. Markos turned to Luke and stared at him for a silent, tense moment. Luke gaze a short scream before slumping against the wall into unconsciousness. As Luke fell to the floor, The Travelers entered the house and followed Markos into the kitchen.

Bonnie stood up as they game into the kitchen, Markos threw his arm out and she suddenly flew across the room and hit her head on the counter. As she fell to the ground unconscious, Damon stood up to check on her, he felt a Traveler give him a migraine. As he fell to his knees, he looked up as Markos walking over to him.

"Hello Damon," Markos greeted him like an old friend, "it's time for you to become one of us."

Salvatore Boarding house

10:52 A.M.

Stefan and Elena burst into the boarding house closely followed by Caroline, Jeremy, and Liv. They saw Enzo and Luke on the floor and felt a sense of dread. As Caroline and Liv checked on Enzo and Luke respectively, Elena, Stefan and Jeremy sprinted into the kitchen. Groaning, Enzo and Luke both to, Enzo with a gasp.

"What happened?" Liv asked angrily.

"The Damn Traveler's got the drop on us." Luke told her as the two men stood up.

"Damon." Enzo said as his eyes widened in realization.

The other three froze before the four of them ran into the kitchen. Jeremy was on the floor trying to wake an unconscious Bonnie while Elena looked lost and devastated as Stefan looked around frantically. There was no sign of Damon what so ever. As they came into the room, everyone turn to them.

When he saw Luke, Stefan's expression turned to anger. Stefan growled before blurring over to Luke and grabbing his shirt before slamming against the wall, causing multiple creaks to appear on it. Everyone, including the now conscious Bonnie, stared at Stefan shocked.

"What happened?!" Stefan demanded of the Warlock.

"The Travelers jumped us. Markos knocked us both out; there was nothing we could do." Luke defended himself and Enzo.

Stefan growled angrily and was about to remove his head when some grabbed his arm. He looked over to see Caroline looking at him with a calming expression.

"You heard the Passenger in Tyler's body Stefan, they've been planning this, and there was nothing that could have been done." She tried to calm him down.

Stefan stared at her for a moment before releasing Luke, albeit reluctantly.

"They've got Damon, we have to find him." Elena said looking like she was about to burst into tears.

"Oh we will, or one of them will learn why they call me the Ripper." Stefan growled as his eyes moved back and forth between Luke and Liv.

The Traveler's hideout

11:01 A.M.

Damon struggled against the Vervain ropes that tied him to the wooden chair. Markos was behind him as, outside the room, the Traveler's chanted.

"Let me go you Dicks!" Damon demanded.

"Oh we plan to, but not yet." Markos told Damon coldly.

Markos put his hands on the side of Damon's head before beginning to chant. Damon let out a pain filled scream as his eyes turned pure black.

**So, what do you guys think? Please leave any thoughts or comments you may have in a review or PM me. The more responses I get, the more inspired I'll feel to update. Leter!**


	5. In the flesh

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries or anything else you recognize. I do own Elizabeth and Cassandra. **

Salvatore boarding house

11:07 A.M.

"Okay," Liv said as she spread a map out on the table, "Stefan, I'm gonna need some of your blood."

Stefan nodded before the veins under his eyes turned black and his eyes darkened. He opened his mouth to reveal his fangs before he bit his wrist. He held his hand out over the map and his blood began dripping down onto the beginning of the map. A decent amount had dropped onto it before his wound had healed, but that was all Liv needed. Liv closed her eyes and began chanting as everyone stared at the map, waiting for Stefan's blood to point to Damon. But, after a few seconds of waiting, everyone looked at the still blood confused. Liv stopped chanting and opened her eyes looking as confused as the rest of them.

"Damn it," Luke cursed causing them to turn to him, "the Travelers must have thought of this and are using a cloaking spell so we can't locate Damon with magic."

"Wait why don't we call your mom and ask her where Damon is? I mean, she is the Oracle and everything?" Caroline suddenly thought up.

"Caroline, you are a genius!" Liv exclaimed as her eyes lit up and she pulled out her phone.

"Um…your mom can't help us." Bonnie interrupted slowly.

"Why not?" Liv demanded as Luke got a sinking feeling.

"Because she's dead," Luke said as everyone turned to him as he looked at Bonnie angrily, "she's the one who died earlier, isn't she?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but we needed to figure out what was happening to Damon." Bonnie apologized.

"And that makes it okay for you to keep our mother's death from us!" Liv exploded.

"No, but we don't have the time to grieve right now, the world is in jeopardy." Bonnie said passionately.

"Give me one reason I should help you." Liv hissed.

"I can name one." Stefan told her casually, too casually.

As Liv turned to look at him, he seemed to disappear. Before Liv could fully process this, she heard a gagging sound behind her. She turned around and was horrified by what she saw. Luke, his face a little pale, was in a one armed neck lock while Stefan had his free hand on the side of Luke's head while said vampire stared at her stonily.

"Either you help me find _my_ brother, or I'll snap _your_ brother's neck." Stefan told her coldly.

"Stefan, don't you think your reaction is a bit extreme?" Caroline asked, shocked at the behavior of the normally righteous Salvatore's behavior.

"They're not gonna help us find Damon just because Bonnie didn't tell them about their mom dying right away? No, I don't my reaction is extreme," Stefan told the blonde never taking his eyes off Liv, "So what's it gonna be? And keep in mind that if I so much as feel a tingling in my brain, I'll snap his neck right here and now."

"Okay, okay I'll help you. Just let him go." Liv said as she held up her hands in a surrendering position.

Stefan eyed her wearily before releasing Luke. Luke fell to his knees, grabbing his throat as he gasped for breath. Liv ran to him, dropping to her knees as she checked him over as Stefan stepped back. While Jeremy, Bonnie, and Caroline were shocked at the behavior of who they had always thought of as 'the good brother', Elena was indifferent, wanting to find Damon as much as he did. On the other hand, Enzo looked at Stefan in a new light. If Damon ever got his brother to lighten up, maybe all three of them could be friends.

"Okay, I'll help you," Liv said after making sure Luke was alright, "but I still have no idea how to find Damon."

"Maybe that's the problem," Elena said causing them to turn to her, "we're unable to find Damon, but what about someone who can lead us to him, like Elizabeth?"

"I'd need a blood relative to locate her." Liv pointed out.

"Well then," Stefan said seeing where Elena was going, "it's a good thing Caroline is a descendent of Elizabeth's sister."

"Pop out the fangs Blondie, it's your blood we need now." Enzo smirked.

Stefan blurred out of the room only to reappear a few seconds later with a rolled up map. Stefan handed it to her before getting rid of the stained map. As Liv unrolled the map onto the table, she gave Caroline a meaningful glance. Nodding, the blonde vampire vamped out before biting her wrist. Like Stefan did minutes ago, she held her hand over the beginning of the map as her blood dripped from her wound onto the map.

After her wound had healed, Caroline dropped her hand back to her side. Liv closed her eyes and began to chant softly. Caroline's blood slowly started to point itself towards another location. It began moving through the Mystic Falls area slowly before finally slowing down after it reached the edge of Mystic Falls. Everyone looked at the spot carefully, noting that it was on the other side of town.

"That's where we need to go." Stefan declared looking like he was ready to go to war.

"Where do we need to go?"

Everyone turned to see Tyler walk into the room, looking like he had just woken up from a deep sleep. Jeremy and Caroline walked over to him as he looked at everyone questionably. Everyone else held back, still wary from the Passenger possessing him.

"How you feeling buddy?" Jeremy asked as he and Caroline reached him.

"Confused, what happened?" Tyler asked the room.

"You were the one the Passenger was possessing, but we managed to construct another Traveler knife and get it out of you." Stefan explained to the confused Hybrid.

"Well then thanks, but what's going on and where are we going?" Tyler asked him.

"Well explain on the way, come on." Elena said as everyone began to follow her out of the kitchen.

The other side

Cassandra looked around the supernatural purgatory that would be her brief home before she looked at the two ghosts in front of her. She knew that these two were the two beings of light she had seen in vision that had saved Damon from the creature of darkness. One was a man and one was a woman. Born centuries apart, together they could save Damon.

"You know what you have to do, don't you?" Cassandra asked for clarification.

"We understand Cassandra." The woman assured her.

"We'll protect him, by any means necessary." The man promised earnestly.

Cassandra smiled at them gratefully and was about to speak again when all three felt the unnatural wind. Cassandra turned around and saw the massive cloud of darkness. Cassandra turned back around the three of them began running away but the wind become stronger. It became so strong that it started to pull the three ghosts towards the darkness. Eventually, the trio found shelter behind some trees. The man and woman jumped behind them but Cassandra was being sucked up into the darkness. She was about to be sucked into it when the man grabbed her hand and tried to pull her towards them. Realizing his efforts would be futile, Cassandra looked at him with a sad smile.

"You need to save Damon. Without him, we are all doomed." She warned him urgently.

Then, she was yanked out of his grip by the wind. The man and woman yelled in horror as she was sucked into the darkness. Her last thought before she was consumed by the darkness was that it was up to them now.

Mystic Falls

11:51 A.M.

Three cars pulled up to the building. Elena, Stefan, and Enzo got out of one car. Out of the second came Bonnie, Jeremy, Tyler, and Caroline with Luke and Liv getting out of the second. All of them stared at the building for a moment before Stefan turned to everyone.

"Everyone know the plan?" He asked them.

"The two of us and Elena go in there and try and capture Elizabeth and get her to tell us where Damon. Everyone else stays out here for back up; did I get all that right?" Tyler inquired.

"Yeah." Stefan nodded as he began to walk over to the building.

As Stefan and Tyler began to walk towards the building, Elena leaned over and whispered something into Enzo's ear in a voice so quite that not even the other supernatural beings could hear. Enzo's eyes widened in surprise as she leaned away, apparently shocked by what she had to say. However, he quickly over came it as he nodded at her, smirking. Elena gave a single nodded before turning to follow Stefan and Tyler. Caroline, who witnessed the exchange, frowned.

"What was that about?"Caroline demanded.

"Nothing you need to worry about, Goldilocks." Enzo assured her.

Stefan opens the door and he, Elena, and Tyler walk inside the door with Stefan shutting it behind him as they look around. It seems to be some kind of café, judging by the way people sat in booths drinking coffee. They started wondering if they were in the right place when they saw her. Elizabeth walked out from behind the counter, wearing a black shirk, jacket, jeans, and boots while flashing them a mocking smile.

The sight of Elizabeth's smug smile sent Elena into a rage. She growled under her breath and began to stalk over to her before Stefan threw an arm out to block her path. They turned to look at her and he silently told her with his eyes that her losing her temper wouldn't help them find Damon. Realizing she was right, Elena took a deep breath before they approached Elizabeth together.

"Where's Damon Elizabeth?" Stefan demanded.

"Oh, you'll find out soon enough." Elizabeth said with a dark smirk.

"What are you talking about?" Elena demanded.

"I can see why Damon complains about your group's Naivety. You just fell for the same strategy twice in the _same_ day." Elizabeth gloated smugly.

Before they could wrap their heads around this, the Doppelgangers and Tyler heard a familiar chanting. They turned to see a male customer chanting. Soon enough, all the customer's began the terribly familiar chant as they all stood up and they undead beings felt a painful sensation in their heads. As they grabbed their heads painfully, Elizabeth smirked before joining in on the chanting.

Outside the building, the others head the chanting and sprung into action. Enzo and Caroline tried to blur into the building but, strangely, just before they reached the door they pushed back by an invisible force. Frowning, Enzo tried to put his hand on the door but his hand was blocked as though an invisible barrier was there. Glancing over at Caroline, the two nodded before they and the others tried to find to found another way it. However, the chanting soon stopped.

Exchanging weary glances, Enzo tried to put his hand on the door. This time, it worked, so he opened the door and they all walked before stopping, shocked by what they saw. The café was completely empty, no Doppelgangers, no Hybrid, no Elizabeth, no Travelers, nothing. Suddenly, they heard a phone ringing. Looking around, they noticed a phone lying on a table. Caroline blurred over, picked it up, and answered it.

"Hello?" She asked.

"You must be Caroline. I must say, it is nice t meet my niece." Elizabeth said on the other line.

"Where are my friends Elizabeth?" Caroline growled.

"They're with me, on their way to meet Markos." She told her distant niece calmly.

Caroline growled before deciding to focus, to dig for other information. "What have you done to Damon?"

"Well, let's just say you and your friends will be seeing an enemy you foolishly thought you were rid of." Elizabeth said vaguely before hanging up, to Caroline's frustration.

Moving truck, en route to the Traveler's hideout

12:27 P.M.

Stefan, Elena, and Tyler came to to the sound of the Traveler's chanting. They opened their eyes to the see some Travelers chanting while Elizabeth looked at them with cold eyes. They were tied in ropes that were obviously Vervain ropes, judging by the pan that was searing through their bodies. Seeing them awaken, Elizabeth smiled at them with mock happiness.

"Good you're awake!" She said with mock cheerfulness.

"Where are we going?" Stefan asked ignoring her attempts to goad them.

"Why to our hideout of course." Elizabeth said like it was obvious.

"Is Damon there?" Elena asked unable to keep the concern and worry out of her voice.

"Yes, he is," Elizabeth said before looking at the Doppelganger carefully, you seem awfully worried about him, but what should I expect from Damon's destined soul mate."

Elena, Stefan, and Tyler stared at her stunned. It was clear that Elizabeth knew of Cassandra's prophecy. But how did she know? Seeing their confused gaze, Elizabeth smirked.

"Julian, the Passenger that possessed Tyler, told us all about the prophecy when he controlled Tyler's body," She explained, "There are only two women who are really in his life at the moment: you and me Elena. Since I am obviously the woman who will lead him to ruin, that leaves you as the one who is his soul mate Elena."

"What have you done to my brother?" Stefan growled at his onetime surrogate sister.

"Oh, you'll see." Elizabeth assured him with a dark smile that unnerved them all.

Salvatore Boarding house

12:43 P.M.

"This is really bad." Bonnie muttered as she ran her hands through her short dark hair.

"it's not just bad, it's the end of everything," Liv told her, "the Travelers are to perform a ritual that will undo all spirit magic, including that spell that turns your friends into vampires and you into the anchor. And since they won't be vampires any more, they'll go back to how they were before…when they _died_."

"They're has to be something we can do." Caroline insisted.

"There isn't anything we can do but run as far away as possible." Liv told them.

"Well then," Enzo said as he placed his hand on Luke's shoulder like they were buddies, "I guess I'll have to convince you."

Faster than anyone could blink, Enzo put Luke in a one armed neck lock and his free hand on Luke's head, just like Stefan had done hours ago, Everyone looked at the scene before then, startled, as Enzo glared at Liv.

"Either you stay and fight like a real witch, or you can run like a coward while your brother is on the other side when it goes kaboom." Enzo told her coldly.

"Enzo we don't need to use violence to convince people!" Caroline told him angrily.

"Well it appears Elena disagrees." Enzo informed her.

"What are you talking about?" Jeremy wanted to know what he meant about his sister.

"Well," Enzo said with a smirk, "you see…

_Elena leaned over so she could whisper in his ear._

"_If Stefan and I end up captured by the Traveler and Luke and Liv try to back out, convince them not to, by any means necessary." She ordered him._

_Enzo's eyes widened as she leaned away from. Enzo then gave a smirk as he nodded after overcoming the shock. He was starting to see what Damon saw in this girl._

"Why would she do that?" Bonnie asked aghast.

"Well maybe Damon's right, maybe you don't know her at all," Enzo pointed out before turning back to Liv, "So what's it gonna be?"

"Alright, we'll stay and fight, just don't hurt him." Liv begged the vampire.

"Uh, am I interrupting?"

Everyone turned to see Matt standing by the door way, shocked t finding Enzo holding Luke hostage. Enzo gave as reassuring smile as he could, but that did nothing to assure the human. In fact, it actually caused him to become nervous.

"No, nothing to interrupt here." Enzo assured him as he released Luke.

The Warlock gasped as he messaged his through. Man, he was having a bad day. Everyone turned to Matt, wondering what the human was doing here.

"What's wrong Matt?" Caroline asked, thinking something bad might have happened.

"Nothing, but I was thinking that since the Travelers are proving to be such a problem, we could use some back up," Matt pointed out before turning his head out the door, "come over here!"

Matt walked in so his guest could come in. When his friend walked, everyone but Luke, Liv, and Enzo were shocked at who it was, but perhaps that was because they had never met this person.

"Well, are you lot just going to stand there staring or are you going to fill me in on what I've missed?" Rebekah asked irritably.

The Traveler's hideout

12:53 P.M.

Elizabeth and the Traveler's led Stefan, Elena, and Tyler through the house. With hands still died by Vervain rope, they three of them noticed Traveler's lined up against the walls, each chanting, obviously casting the cloaking spell. Suddenly, they all heard a familiar blood curdling scream.

"Damon!" Elena shouted in worry and fear.

"Sounds like the spell is almost complete." Elizabeth noted with a smirk.

In a room down the hall, Damon, with his eyes still pure black, screamed as Markos continued to chant. Suddenly his eyes returned to their normal blue and he slumped, seemingly unconscious. Markos stopped chanting and let his hands fall to his sides. He walked over so he was standing in front of Damon. He stared at Damon curiously, wondering if he had done something wrong when Damon's eyes snapped open.

"Untie me now." 'Damon' demanded.

"Of course sir." Markos said as he walked back behind the chair, fighting a losing battle with a victorious smirk.

After he had untied 'Damon', 'Damon' stood up, flexing his body, as though it was new to him. Markos walked over to mini fridge, opened and pulled out a blood bag. He walked over to 'Damon' and held it out to him and 'Damon' took it. As 'Damon drank it, Markos smirked. His plan had worked.

Outside the room, Elena, Stefan, and Tyler waited in a suspenseful silence, unnerved by the now sudden silence. A door down the hall opened and Markos walked out. Before the Doppelgangers and Tyler could ask where they're ally/brother/ex-boyfriend was; they saw him walk out of the room behind Markos. To their confusion, the Travelers stopped chanting and all of them, including Elizabeth and Markos, got on their knees and bowed to 'Damon'. 'Damon' smirked at this as he made his way over to Stefan, Elena, and Tyler. As he reached them, he glanced down at Elizabeth with an assessing gaze.

"You must be Elizabeth. I suppose I have you to thank for the fact that I now control Damon's body." 'Damon' told her as Elizabeth stood up.

"It's an honor to meet you sir." Elizabeth said as she held out her hand for him to shake.

"It would be," 'Damon' said ignoring her hand as he turned to the captives, "I recognize the Doppelgangers but who's the other one?"

"This is Tyler Lockwood, a Hybrid. We captured him along with the Doppelganger's." Elizabeth explained to him as she dropped her hand to her side.

"I see, so he's a liability," 'Damon' said before thrusting his hand into Tyler's chest, to the shock of everyone, "and as we all know, liabilities…need to be removed."

'Damon' then yanked his hand out of Tyler's chest, taking the Hybrid's heart with him. Horrified, Elena and Stefan watched as Tyler gasped in pain as his skin turned gray before falling backwards on to the floor.

Salvatore Boarding house

12:55 P.M.

"So we have quite a problem on our hands." Rebekah noted.

"Yeah, and now we need to find Stefan, Elena, Damon, and Tyler and try to stop the ritual." Caroline told the Original.

"How does this ritual work anyway?" Rebekah asked as she turned towards Liv.

"First, the Doppelgangers must be drained of blood, and then their heads must be removed, killing them instantly. Once they are dead, the spell can be cast, destroying all spirit magic." Liv explained the gruesome details.

Bonnie was about to say something when she felt a breeze behind her. She turned around to see Tyler standing there. Immediately realizing what had happened, she let out a sob. Everyone turned to her to see her staring sadly at the air and realized what had happened.

"Someone died didn't they." Enzo said as a statement not a question.

"Who is it?" Caroline asked hesitantly.

"Tyler." Bonnie choked out.

"They had someone take over Damon's body, that's what they were planning," Tyler told her, walking closer to her, "whoever it is seems pretty important considering all the Travelers bowed down to him."

"Thanks for the information Tyler." Bonnie said as tears began to fall down her face.

"Everything's gonna be okay Bonnie." Tyler promised though he didn't know if he could keep that promise.

Tyler then walked over and they hugged, though Tyler vanished as soon as they touched. Bonnie cried out in grief and pain as she felt as though her heart was ripped out.

The Traveler's hideout

12:56 P.M.

"Well that takes care of that." 'Damon' said callously as he dropped Tyler's heart to the floor.

"Who the hell are you?" Stefan growled enraged as he glared at the person who had taken over his brother's body and killed Tyler.

"Oh, we've already met Stefan." 'Damon' revealed to him.

"We have?" Stefan asked surprised as he and Elena stared at him confused.

"Why yes we have…my shadow self." 'Damon' said with a smirk causing Stefan's mind to flash back several months ago.

_Mystic falls quarry, almost one year ago_

_Late at night_

_Stefan stared at the immortal in shock as he assumed his true form. It was a form that was very familiar to him: his own! Stefan grew a new appreciation for what Elena had to go through with Katherine as he felt like he was looking in a mirror._

"_Hello my shadow self." Silas told him smirking._

Stefan stared at 'Damon' in shock as his mind wrapped around a disturbing possibility. Next to him, he could see from Elena's horrified expression that she had come to the same conclusion. 'Damon' smirked at them, obviously enjoying their expression.

"S-Silas?" Stefan asked in shock.

"In the flesh." Silas said with a dark smirk. 

**So, bet you didn't see that coming did ya? Please leave any thoughts or comments you have in a review or PM me. Reviews speed up the updates.**


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